


I'm Not Lonely

by tuesdaysinoctober



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, aang makes really good tofu, it's Christmas, katara makes gift baskets, sokka knows what's up, they aren't lonely, they have a not-date, zuko works two jobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:07:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27821242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuesdaysinoctober/pseuds/tuesdaysinoctober
Summary: Katara and Zuko aren't lonely, okay? They're just fine.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	I'm Not Lonely

**Author's Note:**

> This is for ZK Drabble December, day six, with the prompt "Are you lonely?"  
> I feel like it's pretty Americanized and it is a Christmas ficlet so feel free to disregard if you're absolutely tired of everyone's "It's Christmas!" stuff. I also accidentally went over the 1K word limit. Oops.

“Are you lonely?” isn’t a phrase in any Christmas song. Katara should know. She checked. 

“Are you lonely?” isn’t a phrase for the holidays. 

“Are you lonely?” is for a blues singer who’s lost her boyfriend. 

Katara can’t sing, the blues or otherwise but she has lost her boyfriend, in a manner of speaking. Really, she’s been dumped, but that’s not the point. 

“We want different things,” Jet had said. He was looking for a fling. Someone you could call up and if they said no, you could call another person and there wouldn’t be a problem. Katara wanted a relationship with someone who didn’t put her up on a pedestal and also someone who would bring her food at midnight. Not a lot to ask for, in her opinion, but her luck was proving differently. 

* * *

“Are you lonely?” is what Zuko scoffs under his breath in a bad imitation of his uncle as he scans groceries at the local Cabbage Mart, for a girl whose hair is dark and tied back in loops.

“It’s like you read my mind,” she mutters, not really talking to him, but he’s going to respond anyway. 

“My uncle keeps bothering me about it,” he replies, focusing on the three bags of cheese the girl has bought. “He’s always asking if I have someone to bring home for the holidays.” 

“Yes! My friends are always on me about it! Especially since my absolute asshole of an ex-boyfriend broke up with me.” 

“Ah, that sucks.” 

“I’m dealing,” she says, motioning to the cheese. 

“Are you going home for the holidays?” Zuko finds himself asking. It’s rare that he keeps a conversation with a customer going but this girl is interesting. 

“I think I’m dragging my brother and his girlfriend up from Kyoshi. And maybe a get together with friends. My grandma can’t really travel and my dad is probably? Going to be out of town, traveling for work. What about you?” 

“Dinner with my uncle and a confrontation with my sister or dad. Maybe both.” 

“Hey, at least we won’t be at the holidays alone,” she says, brushing her hair back and helping him bag the rest of her groceries. 

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Your total is seventy eight thirty. 

“I’m Katara,” she says as she hands over her card. 

“Zuko.” 

“I know. I saw your nametag.” 

“Oh. Oh, yeah.” 

She waves to him as she leaves, juggling the bags by herself. 

* * * 

Katara sees Zuko again, rather unexpectedly, when she runs into him on the street outside of Aunt Wu’s Herbs and Fortunes shop. 

“Didn’t take you for the type of person to shop here,” she says, helping him pick up his shopping bags. She really did run into him, even if it was an accident. 

“Ha. My uncle is a tea addict.”

“Can you be addicted to tea?” 

“Caffeine is technically a drug.” 

“I should probably stop drinking coffee, then.” 

“It’s why you can’t stop drinking coffee,” Zuko says and Katara laughs. 

“Any recommendations? I’m trying to do these cute little gift basket things, but smaller, not those big ones you see at raffles.” 

“I guess it depends on the person,” Zuko says with a shrug. 

“Can you help anyway? You know, if you’re not doing anything,” Katara asks. She doesn’t know where she’s going with this but maybe Zuko will. 

He checks his watch. “I don’t have to be at work for a couple of hours.” 

"Oh, great! Nice.” 

“Yeah, yeah. So, what are you looking for?” 

They spend the greater part of two hours shopping for tea. Katara gets her fortune told (you will have a great love this holiday season), and scoffs when she receives it; Zuko laughs at her scoff but then Aunt Wu tells him the exact same thing and he frowns. 

One of the girls that works there, Meng, let’s them try the new holiday teas that have just been shipped in. Katara giggles whenever she goes to clink her teacup with Zuko’s. 

She ends up buying tea for Aang and Gran-Gran. Aang receives tea leaves known as ginseng and Gran-Gran oolong tea. She buys a little fortune charm for Suki at the counter and, because Aunt Wu’s is a local shop, they have funny pins and bookmarks. Katara buys one for Sokka in the shape of a right triangle that says, “I’m always right.” 

“Is your brother always right?” Zuko asks, peering over her shoulder. 

“He thinks he is,” Katara says with a toss of her hair. 

“How many baskets are you making, anyway?” 

“Maybe six? It’s a bunch of really tiny gifts. I don’t know how I’ll ship it to Gran-Gran and Dad but I’ll figure it out.” 

Katara walks with Zuko until he stops at a little coffee shop. 

“I thought you worked at Cabbage Mart,” she says, confused. 

“I do,” he says with a smirk. “But in this economy? I work at my uncle’s coffee shop too. I’m getting a Ph.D in, ah, history. With specialization in mythological stories. Every myth has a little bit of truth in it, you know.” 

“Maybe you could tell me a little more about it on Christmas,” Katara offers. She avoids Zuko’s eyes when she says this. Why? She doesn’t know. Katara has only just met this man but there’s something inexplicable about him. 

“My friends and I are having brunch,” she rushes on. “And you could join. If you wanted. You said you were having dinner with your uncle, so I just thought that you might want to eat with us? Before? You don’t have to eat, you could just come.” She babbles on, wishing she could stop, but Zuko isn’t saying anything and it’s a psychological need to fill silence, or that’s what freshman psych class said, anyways. 

“Katara,” he says, holding up his hands. She closes her mouth and gives him a sheepish smile. 

“I’d like to come,” he says. “Where are you meeting?” 

“It’s at my apartment,” she replies. “I can give you my number.” 

They switch phones, Katara still smiling and Zuko starting to. 

* * *

Christmas brunch at Katara’s house is loud and wild and full of laughter and pointing and stories and really good food. 

Zuko realizes he knows both Katara’s brother and her brother’s girlfriend. Sokka and Zuko had a class together in their sophomore year of college. They had both taken an art class, “for kicks” Sokka called it. 

Suki had been in Ty Lee’s dance troupe during college. Zuko remembers watching her perform when Mai and Azula had dragged him along (“You know Ty Lee? Oh, she’s such a sweetheart.”)

Toph is brash and funny and calls all of her friends bizarre nicknames, each with a special story behind it. Zuko listens with rapt attention when he finds out Katara’s nickname is Sugar Queen. 

Aang brings tofu to eat (“I’ve been a vegetarian since I was a kid.”) and he makes it taste good, which surprises Zuko. He supposes Uncle just hasn’t gotten the hang of cooking tofu yet. 

Katara’s gifts are masterfully created. Zuko’s gifts --given with advice from Katara-- are well received and he’s rather pleased with his finished products. 

He leaves around six, regretfully, and receives many hugs on his way out. 

“You know,” Sokka says, as Zuko takes his coat. “We’re throwing a New Year’s party. You should come.” 

“I think I will,” Zuko says. 

“Great,” Sokka replies. “You can ask my sister out then.” 

When Uncle Iroh asks him, “Are you lonely, Zuko?” at dinner, Zuko shakes his head with a smile and says, “No, Uncle. Not this year.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was honestly thinking about it and I was like, gift baskets as holiday gifts = actually really cute, so I made a list of what Katara got everyone. 
> 
> Aang- ginseng tea, honey, a toy for Appa, sunflower seeds, and slippers
> 
> Gran-Gran- oolong tea, muffin mix, new mittens, and yarn 
> 
> Hakoda- travel pillow, Ba Sing Se University keychain, rechargeable battery* 
> 
> Sokka- “I’m always right” pin, chewy candy, two new protractors**, and fuzzy socks***
> 
> Suki- fortune charm, fan earrings, dance poster from college****, sign that says, “What do you mean I can’t do that?” , and a set of make-up brushes
> 
> Toph- a sensory scrapbook, a headband, collection of meteorites, and a badgermole stuffed animal 
> 
> Zuko- Local Myths of the Earth Kingdom now with the Tale of Oma and Shu, journal, Cabbage Mart 104 AG Fundraiser with King Kuei t-shirt*****, and Love Amongst Dragons pamphlet****** 
> 
> *Katara is always on Hakoda to get a rechargeable battery but he always forgets
> 
> **Sokka broke/lost the two she gave him last year
> 
> ***Suki was complaining that Sokka always steals her pairs
> 
> ****Suki blinked and no one noticed until it was too late, so her eyes are closed 
> 
> *****King Kuei brought his bear and the bear went on a rampage looking for honeyed ham but the store was out
> 
> ****** Katara did theatre for a hot second in high school and the play was Love Amongst Dragons. When she mentioned this to Zuko, he laughed because she played a shrub


End file.
